MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chavez moves closer to “my good friend” Kirchner

Re-elected Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez sent Tuesday two strong support messages to his Argentine counterpart Nestor Kirchner: he replaced an ambassador and announced the granting of a significant credit to an Argentine dairy cooperative.

"Mr Kirchner didn't ask for nothing or interfere, because we have an open and respectful relation but as happened in Chile our ambassador in Argentina (Roger Capella) committed a mistake", said Chavez in Miraflores Palace, Government House.

"They are good diplomats but they are exposed to great pressure and are very much monitored in their activities", said Chavez who added that he would soon announce the new ambassador to Buenos Aires.

Chavez anticipated he would be flying to Buenos Aires in the "coming hours" to chat and drink Argentine red wine with "my good friend President Nestor Kirchner".

Ambassador Capella was recalled to Caracas a few days before last Sunday's election which Chavez won by a landslide.

"Things happened that disappointed the Argentine government and some allied sectors of the Argentine government felt disenchanted", admitted Chavez who added that mistakes "became powerful arguments for the opposition".

Actually Ambassador Capella was closely linked to officials from the Kirchner administration and social and picket organizations faithful to the government. He was known to have a "full agenda" which included organizing forums, distributing scholarships, helping with food and health programs plus soft credits for small companies and cooperatives.

Capella's conferences on Chavez Bolivarian revolution also became common in different Argentine colleges and universities.

But he stepped over the line when he encouraged a notorious picketers' organizer to openly express support for Iran following Argentine prosecutors' warrants for several former Iranian officials allegedly linked or involved in the 1994 attack to a Jewish organization in Buenos Aires which left dozens killed, maimed and injured, and which remains unsolved.

The picketer who also had a job as Plots for Social Habitat Deputy Secretary in the Kirchner administration was forced to resign after visiting the Iran embassy to express his sympathy for the Teheran regime.

Following the incident ambassador Capella was recalled to Caracas, in spite of the very close links between the Chavez regime and Iran.

President Chavez also announced Venezuela would be extending to SanCor, one of Argentina's main dairy cooperatives, heavily indebted, an 80 million US dollars credit.

"They came to us with a proposal and we've made a decision: 80 million US dollars to help alleviate the burden debt, which is greater, but it will help", said Chavez.

SanCor apparently will repay with dairy produce, technology and helping to mount a dried milk plant in Venezuela.

"We're going to have a state of the art dried milk plant so we can distribute it at the lowest possible cost avoiding owners and dairy ranchers", he emphasized.